Area Development News Desk

08/06/2012

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Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. plans to construct an ethanol production facility that will transform solid waste into a renewable transportation fuel, 20 miles east of Reno, Nevada in Storey County, creating 53 full time and more than 430 engineering and construction jobs.

As an incentive to get funding for the project, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded Fulcrum's Sierra BioFuels Plant a conditional commitment for a $105 million loan guarantee. With the loan guarantee finalized, the company will secure bank financing, which when combined with private equity capital provided by Fulcrum, will fully fund construction of the municipal solid waste to renewable transportation fuel facility.

"This USDA loan guarantee provides a key piece of financing to move our Sierra BioFuels project forward," said E. James Macias, Fulcrum's President and Chief Executive Officer. "It allows us to secure private bank financing at reasonable prices and with favorable terms. This is a real example of how USDA's Rural Development Program helps bring new and innovative technologies and jobs to some of the areas hardest hit by the economic downturn."

The plant will produce 10 million gallons of ethanol annually as well as renewable energy to be used at the plant utilizing processed municipal solid waste such as household garbage. The firm said "when operational the project will provide a new source of domestic renewable fuel, helping to reduce the price of oil and gasoline, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, relieve pressure on existing and future landfills, significantly lower carbon emissions, and stimulate economic growth."

Fulcrum has secured long-term MSW feedstock contracts and an ethanol off-take contract for the Sierra BioFuels Plant. The company said it is in the final stages of completing engineering work on the project and will proceed with procurement and construction when the loan guarantee is finalized and the financing is secured.

The Sierra BioFuels Plant is the first of several projects that California-based Fulcrum is currently developing. Fulcrum currently has projects in various stages of development throughout North America. Information on any incentives offered by state or local officials was not immediately available.